Mixing devices in which vessel contents are admixed are sufficiently well known. In particular for laboratories, there are mixers which can also mix small quantities of liquids by small containers also being put together in suitable holders, so-called “exchangeable blocks” (devices for holding vessels which can also be used for controlling the temperature), in very large groups, being of a two, three or even four-figure number. Such vessels and the associated holders can be standardised in the exchangeable blocks. Thus, there are, for example, vessels with 0.2 ml, 0.5 ml, 1.5 ml and 2.0 mm content—as well as respective exchangeable blocks with suitable holders standardised for that purpose. Further, there are, for example, exchangeable blocks for Cryo vessels, for Falcon tubes (e.g. 1.5 ml and 50 ml), for glass vials and beakers, for containers, for microtitre plates with, for example, 96 and 384 vessels (MTP), for deep well plates (DWP), for slides and for PCR plates with 96 vessels (wells). This list is not inclusive; it does, however, indicate what a large variety of laboratory vessels exist, for which the mixers should be suitable.
Because these exchangeable blocks are mostly constructed in such a way that the single vessels are inserted into them from above, a circular translational oscillating mixing motion has become established, by way of preference, for the well-known mixers, which largely proceeds on a horizontal plane. For this purpose, with the well-known mixers an imbalance drive, which is preferably driven by an electric motor, is usually responsible for putting a “table” (an accomodating device, onto which an exchangeable block is fixed) into this circular motion. Usually such mixers are driven with a rotational frequency of 200 rpm to 3,000 rpm, however rotational frequencies of 100 rpm to 10,000 rpm are also possible. The frequency can usually be adjusted.
If the mixing device now also has a temperature control device, so that the laboratory vessel contents cannot only be mixed, but also have the temperature controlled, there is an accommodating device in the case of which a source of heat or sink on the temperature control device heats at least one contact surface on the top, and this contact surface has a thermally conductive link to the exchangeable block mounted on it, and in fact by being located directly on its underside.
As a rule, the contact surface of the accommodating device and the underside of the exchangeable block, which comes into contact with the contact side, are shaped flat, or virtually flat. In that respect, the gradient of the surface usually deviates from the horizontal plane by a maximum of 10°. The contact surface of the accommodating device can make up the complete surface of the accommodating device, but also only a certain proportion of it, usually at least 70%.
In addition, multiple exchangeable blocks can also be attached to an accommodating device, for example 2, 4, 6, 8 or 9. In that regard, the exchangeable blocks preferably have an underside of the same size. In order to produce the thermally conductive contact with the temperature-regulated contact surface of the accommodating device, such exchangeable blocks which usually consist of materials with good thermal conductivity, such as metals, in particular aluminium or silver, wherein the block can be of a solid construction or may have an eroded structure, which, for the purposes of weight reduction, only still has structures for accommodating the sample and good heat transmission from the underside of the exchangeable block to the vessels, are known to be firmly attached to the accommodating device. The screws can be loosened relatively easily with the aid of a tool, such as a screwdriver, so that the exchangeable block can be exchanged, for example, for an exchangeable block for laboratory vessels of a different size.